Transgender gearing up to hit the silver screen

Chennai: Aiswarya was born a male but longed to live like a woman. So at the age of 17, she left her home in Tamil Nadu's Erode district to go to Mumbai. Ten years on, Aiswarya is known as Karpaga and is all set to make her acting debut as the heroine of debutante director D Siva Kumar's film 'Paal,' which literally means gender in Tamil.

The story is about how a family treats a transgender, her love towards a man and how the society treats them.

It is the story of the film and the fact that it deals with the unusual story of a transgender had created some hurdles for its director.

Says Siva Kumar, "Getting a producer was difficult, as most people didn't want to invest money in such a project. Some of them dropped the film midway. It was difficult to get a hero who would be willing to act with a transgender. And even finding a transgender who looked so much like a woman was tough."

However, the director is hoping that that the film through its unexplored territories will be able to inspire the audiences to accept the transgender people as their own.

Priya Babu, President, Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association said, “We have asked the government to form a new law — Transgender Marriage Act to legalise their marriages. We hope this film will support the cause.”

After the small screen, a transgender will make a mark in the big screen as well, with the film 'Paal.' But will the film help change some social perceptions or will it end up stereotyping them all is what we need to find out. The film releases in December.

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